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Tigress
Kari Wahlgren (TV series)IMDB.com - Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness |alias= Master Tigress |appearance= Orange and white fur with black stripes and bright orange eyes |combat= Hung Gar "Southern" style of Tiger Kung Fu |fate= Attempts and fails to defeat Tai Lung, and finally accepts Po as the Dragon Warrior. |quote= "Don't try and stop me!" }} Master Tigress is the adoptive daughter of Shifu, making Tai Lung her adoptive brother. She is a master of the Tiger style of Hung Gar Kung Fu, and is the unofficial leader of the Furious Five. Biography As a child, Tigress was an orphan living in the Bao Gu Orphanage, presumably located in the Valley of Peace. Currently, no one knows about her biological parents or how she ended up in the Bao Gu Orphanage in the first place. The residents of the orphanage lived in fear of her, due to her violent temper and frightening strength. Unsure of what could be done with the child, the caretakers of the orphanage put Tigress in a separate room from the other children, and summoned the help of Master Shifu. Hearing about the trouble at the orphanage, Shifu came to help and met Tigress. He introduced her to a game of dominoes, which required a still and disciplined hand to master. At first, Tigress couldn't place the dominoes correctly, often breaking the fragile wooden tiles in her grip, frustrating her. But Shifu was a patient and loving teacher, and taught her for several months to control her temper and her strength, teaching her discipline. Finally, after months of training, Tigress presented her hard work to the adults and other children of the orphanage by skillfully placing the dominoes correctly with precision and agility; when she finished, she tipped the placed dominoes to form the symbol of Yin and Yang, earning the trust and friendship of the caretakers and other orphans. Sadly, even then, the adults who came periodically to adopt new children were still afraid of her. So Shifu took her in as a daughter, giving Tigress a new home and a family. Even then Tigress felt unaccepted, due to Master Shifu's closed and often stern personality, and she strove to better herself to gain his approval and love that she craved. Over time, she was joined by four other students: Monkey, Mantis, Crane, and Viper, and the group collectively became known as the Furious Five. Tigress became a Master in the Tiger style of Hung Gar Kung Fu, and as the unofficial leader of the Furious Five she and her comrades gained great fame across China with their many accomplishments in battle. Even with all her accomplishments, however, Tigress still felt the need to prove herself to her Master that she was not a second Tai Lung. Her chance to prove herself came sooner than she expected when one day, Oogway had a vision of the powerful snow leopard breaking out of prison and returning to the valley. Alarmed, Master Shifu (on Oogway's suggestion) announced a tournament to declare who the Dragon Warrior would be out of the Furious Five. On the day of the tournament, each of the Five publicly exhibited their talents one at a time, with Tigress preforming last. Before she had the chance to start, it was time for the choosing. It appeared that Master Oogway was about to point at her-- until a fat panda seemingly fell out of the sky and landed right in front of Oogway's pointing claw. Confused, Tigress asked if the old tortoise was pointing at her, but Oogway was convinced that the Panda (Po) had been chosen by the universe, and the panda's appearance was not by accident. He proclaimed the panda as the Dragon Warrior-- much to Tigress' and Shifu's horror, and as Po was carried off to the Jade Palace Tigress apologized to Shifu for failing him. The diminutive red panda stopped her, saying that if he hadn't made the panda quit by the next morning, then it was he who failed his students. Through the rest of the day, Shifu did his best to discourage Po and try to make him leave-- he tried to intimidate him by showing him the training hall and allowing the panda to be humiliated in front of the Five. The derision that Shifu felt was echoed by Tigress herself; she was offended that a fat, flabby panda like Po would be chosen over a loyal student like herself, and she made sure that Po knew her opinion of him-- going as far as to tell him that night that he was a disgrace to Kung Fu and that if he respected the martial art at all, he would be gone by morning. To their dismay, Po didn't leave the next morning. He was still there, as stubborn and disturbingly fan-boyish as ever. Attempts were made through the day to discourage Po and make him go home, but he persevered and made it through the second day-- although he was pretty beat, having to spar with most of the Five and tumble down the thousand steps. While he received acupuncture from Mantis and Viper, Tigress confided to Po why Shifu acted the way he did by telling Po the story of Tai Lung's betrayal, and in so doing she revealed why she acted as she did towards him-- and later on during dinner, they all received terrible news from Shifu: Tai Lung had indeed escaped prison, and to make things worse, Master Oogway had just passed away. Tigress begged her Master to allow herself and the Five to stop Tai Lung, stating that it was what he trained them for. Surprisingly, Shifu said that it wasn't her destiny to defeat Tai Lung. He was now convinced that it was Po's job to stop Tai Lung after all, and nothing she could say would change his mind. She decided to go and try to stop him anyway, leaving that night on her own. To her surprise she found that Viper, Mantis, Monkey, and Crane had known she would try to leave and they followed her, and they stated that they wanted to help her in her endeavor. Traveling as fast as they could, it took days to finally intercept Tai Lung at the Thread of Hope, a network of rope bridges that connected the mountain tops. Tigress finally got to meet her adoptive brother face to face in combat, the ensuing battle made difficult by the rope bridge itself as well as Tai Lung's great strength and skill. Had it not been for her friends, Tigress would had fallen to her death after Tai Lung had managed to overpower her and entangle her in the ropes, effectively strangling her before she accidentally let go. Rescued by the quick thinking Crane, Tigress switched tactics and worked together with the others, displaying her greatest strength as a team leader/player and managed to overpower the snow leopard in a stunning show of strength and cunning. At first they assumed that they had vanquished him completely, but Tigress had her doubts, and sure enough Tai Lung reappeared, swinging back from the opposite peak with the ropes from the now destroyed bridge and landing behind the startled team. Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, Tai Lung used a technique that Shifu had not taught them-- chi blocking. Jabbing each of the Five in vital pressure points, he paralyzed them all-- with the exception of Crane, whom he left unparalyzed in order to carry back the defeated warriors to the Jade Palace as a warning: he could defeat the strongest warriors in China, so the Dragon Warrior (and Shifu) would have no hope in stopping him from taking the scroll. It was with great shame that Tigress faced Master Shifu and Po when released from the effects of the chi block back at the Jade Palace, feeling that she had failed Shifu. He quietly rebuked her, telling her she could have been killed and that Tai Lung's attempt to strike fear into their hearts wouldn't work: he had been busy training Po while the Five were absent, and he felt that the panda was now ready to receive the Dragon Scroll. Wasting no time, they all assembled in the Palace, where Shifu retrieved the scroll and proceeded to give it to Po. Upon opening it, Po relayed a most distressing bit of information: the legendary scroll, thought to endow the Dragon Warrior with unlimited power... was blank. There was nothing else that could be done: Shifu ordered the Five and Po to evacuate the Valley in a last ditch effort, while he stayed behind to stall Tai Lung as long as possible. He expected to die during the battle, and his parting words to them were the ones that Tigress had always longed to hear from her adoptive father: that he was proud of them and that he was honored to be their master. The dismal feeling that everyone felt as they left had to be pushed aside once they started gathering the villagers. Tigress fell into her role as leader and began to lead the evacuation in spite of her sadness. Leading the populace to the surrounding mountains through the stormy night, she and the Five were surprised in the morning as everyone witnessed a bright wave of light and energy coming from the middle of town. Deciding to go back, they discovered that Po had gone back and fought Tai Lung, eventually defeating him with the legendary Wuxi Finger Hold, causing the leopard to be obliterated in an explosion of his own chi energy. Amazed, Tigress finally let go of her pride as she approached Po and bowed, honoring him for the first time as a Master and as the Dragon Warrior, and for the first time in a long while, she slowly smiled at him. Tigress realized that she had what she had wanted all along; she had her Master's approval-- and even though she wasn't the one to receive the Dragon Scroll, she didn't need it after all. She had already proved her worth, and that was good enough for her. Clothing/Outfit Master Tigress' outfit consists of basic clothing most students would wear to practice the art of Kung Fu in. Unlike the other Furious Five, however, Tigress is the only member to wear a shirt: a traditional red Chinese vest with bamboo patterns held together with small metal chains that look like tiny . She also wears black sweatpants with the waist and ankles wrapped in the style of a Shaolin leg wrap, which helps to increase kicking and stance endurance.Wing Lam Kung Fu Federation - Shaolin Leg Wraps She is also the only Furious Five member who wears open-toed shoes. In Kung Fu Panda Holiday (during the Winter Feast dinner at the Jade Palace and later at the Noodle Shop), Tigress and the other members of the Furious Five each wear an outfit similar to their normal attire, but with colors that match the colors of the holiday. Tigress wears a silver vest with red bamboo patterns and a red Shaolin waist wrap. Tigress also briefly wears a hat similar to some of the other masters at the table during the Palace dinner. Personality Master Tigress is the strongest and boldest of the Furious Five. She is noted to have the typical qualities of a hero: overachieving, brave, fearless, and willing to do anything to save the day. The one exception to her willingness, however, is believe in Po, who she thinks is a joke. But even the strongest can be wrong, and Tigress learns that destiny sometimes arrives in unexpected ways.Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Master Tigress She is generally friendly, but the least sociable of the Five. In many scenes in which the other four of the Furious Five and/or Po were joking or having fun, Tigress would often remain quiet and withdrawn. In the first film, it was strongly believed, by Shifu and herself, that Oogway was about to choose her as the Dragon Warrior before Po's entrance, despite Oogway's statements. Tigress bitterly resented Po for thwarting her dream, and was the most vocal of the Five in her contempt for the panda and his perceived lack of respect for Kung Fu, even while her comrades grew to respect him, perhaps believing she was the Dragon Warrior. When she was a young cub, Tigress had trouble controlling her violent temper. Master Shifu had helped teach her how to control this temper since then, but she still occasionally loses control. This is shown during the first film while she was telling Po about Shifu's past with Tai Lung and herself. She had mistaken Po's sudden facial expression into thinking that he was making fun of her. She reacted by pulling back her paw, having every intention on scratching him. Mantis stopped her before she could do so, confessing that he accidentally hit his facial nerve with one of his acupuncture needles, to which she pulls back. However, despite all natural sides of Tigress, she does possess a "soft side", particularly towards children in some instances. This is shown near the end of the first film when she politely helped the villagers evacuate the valley, and at the end of Kung Fu Panda Holiday, when Tigress playfully helped to feed a young toddler piglet during the Winter Feast. Tigress has sustained this calm and content attitude since the events of the first film. Fighting Style The traditional Tiger fighting style is powerful, strong, firm, and aggressive-- and adding a bit of Wu Shu-like acrobatic flair to the mix, Tigress is a warrior to be feared. She strikes directly without hesitation, utilizing speed, agility and power to shatter opponents' defenses. Like the traditional tiger fighter, Tigress stays close to the ground; she is agile, acrobatic and elegant, fighting honorably and never using her claws, unlike Tai Lung.Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Master Tigress One of Tigress' famous moves is the "Tahlia Leap" as seen in Kung Fu Panda Holiday. Trivia *It is suspected that she was seven years old when Shifu taught her how to control her strength in Secrets of the Furious Five (which took place roughly twenty years before the movie), so she might be between twenty-seven and thirty years old. *According to the filmmakers' commentary on the DVD, Tigress is Po's favorite of the Furious Five despite the fact that Tigress shows considerable disrespect and disgust at him throughout most of the main film. *In Kung Fu Panda Holiday, Tigress mentions that her favorite part of the Winter Feast were the folk dances. Gallery tigress-character art.jpg|Tigress concept art by Nicolas Marlet Cub_tigress.jpg| Young Tigress TigressClubs.png|Tigress training in the Training Hall Kung-fu-panda l.jpg "Happy holiday, Po".png|Tigress at the Winter Feast AngelinaJolieTigress.jpg|Tigress and her voice actress, Angelina Jolie Quotes References Category:Characters Category:Kung Fu Masters Category:Film Characters Category:Shorts Characters Category:TV Series Characters Category:Video Game Characters